The subject of travel insurance while walking the Camino comes up fairly frequently, with the usual misinformation being bandied about. Here is at least some of what you need to know:
While there is anecdotal evidence that Pilgrims are often treated free of charge in Spanish medical facilities, this is not an appropriate strategy to rely on. Your existing medical insurance may have some foreign coverage, but, once again, not something to rely on. If you can’t afford to get travel insurance for your trip, you shouldn’t go!
Quick Summary:
You need Major Medical, $100k+ and Evacuation Coverage, don’t worry as much about trip interruption, Delay etc., these will usually be covered by your major policy and by your credit card. Shop around using the websites below. DO NOT buy the airline’s insurance, but do buy your insurance as soon as possible after purchasing your ticket. If you are a frequent traveler, buy an annual plan.
1. Check your credit card benefits and see what is already covered! If you use a premium credit card, you may be surprised at what is already covered.
2. Decide what else you need to cover, I would recommend at least $100,000 in medical and Evacuation insurance.
3. Use a marketplace to shop plans, try Insure my Trip or my favorite Squaremouth. Experiment with different parameters. You may be surprised how reasonable pricing is if you don’t cover trip expenses, but do cover medical and Evacuation. Example: I just bought (4/19) a 28 day policy for $31.
4. Consider an annual plan, see below for one that includes Covid coverage from Seven Corners.
Travel Insurance; don’t leave home without it:
Many of the conversations around travel insurance end up completely at cross purposes because the participants are talking about different kinds of coverages, trip interruption, cancellation and delay versus medical and evacuation coverage. The airlines typically offer “Trip Insurance” at the end of the ticketing process. If you read the fine print, this generally covers delays, baggage and various other interruptions. It almost never covers medical and Evacuation, the two things you most need on the Camino. Before you buy “Trip Insurance” check the terms of your credit card. If you are using a premium card such as the recommended Chase Sapphire Reserve, most of these or all of these things will be already covered. Here are the Chase Sapphire Reserve Benefits So, the first thing, before you get too far along, is to decide what you are trying to cover. For most people walking the Camino, the airfare and trip expenses are relatively small and therefore may not warrant cancellation or trip interruption insurance to cover. If you spent $1,000 for airfare, while you wouldn’t want to lose it, this is not a life changing loss if you do. Where you really need to make sure you are covered is for medical issues and for evacuation. This is “Travel Insurance.” If you were to get injured in a way that requires you to be transported home, the expenses can become breathtaking rather quickly. I am not an expert on insurance, but from doing a fair amount of research I have figured out the following: If you are a frequent traveler, buy an annual policy. I found one from Travel Guard for about $250/year that covers me whenever I’m a certain distances from home. For the occasional traveler, or in addition, first decide what you are trying to cover, and then shop on various websites. If you paid $10,000 for a world cruise a year from now, then you probably want to cover it with trip interruption, delay and cancellation insurance. Regardless, make sure your plan has a high medical coverage limit (think $100,000+), and evacuation coverage. Read the fine print regarding pre-existing conditions! The insurance offered when you buy your airline ticket is almost always a bad choice. Generally, your credit card will offer some trip interruption and delay coverage but usually not medical or evacuation coverages, see here for some examples: https://www.valuepenguin.com/credit-card-travel-insurance-who-and-whats-covered.
Here is a good article on what is covered by premium credit cards vs travel insurance: Credit card vs Travel insurance
If for some reason you are not convinced that you need travel insurance, or you just want some other viewpoints and information, check out what some other travel bloggers say about it, including minimum coverage recommendations: Nomadic Matt and Solo Traveler World. And another from Nomadic Matt Travel Insurance.
And one more good article from Nomadic Matt. Reasons you need travel insurance
Still don’t think you need it? Here’s another story: https://adrianleeds.com/subscribe-to-our-publications/nouvellettre/testament-to-our-community/
Here’s an Article from Solo Traveler, keep in mind they are not American. Their reference to the price of Annual policies is way off, I paid about $300 for annual coverage with TravelGuard in 2021. Solo Traveler Travel insurance.
Here is a good article about Evacuation Insurance. Remember that some policies only pay for you to get to the nearest “adequate” medical facility. https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherelliott/2019/09/07/need-know-medical-evacuation-coverage-before-you-travel/?sh=116aed8a32c4
Here is one of the better known Evacuation Insurance companies: MedJet Assist
Here’s a really good article on the subject: AFAR Magazine
Here is an annual plan that includes COVID coverage: https://www.sevencorners.com/coronavirus/annual-travel-insurance
Here are some websites to use when shopping, once again, read the fine print.
https://www.travelinsurance.com
https://mvp.travelguard.com/home. (Also good for annual plans)
HOME. More Info, money, cell phones, trains.
Tips and Advice for Walking the Camino 